Featured Articles
East Tennessee Love Letters that Crossed Oceans: A WWI Story of Patriotism, Courage and Devotion
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The McClung Historical Collection was sent a piece of history that tells the story of a love during World War 1 from an East Tennessee couple’s perspective. James M. Hawk is the [...]
Survival and Rescue at Sea: The First Mission of Ensign Kenneth R. Smith, USN
Newly commissioned Kenneth Smith was a 1917 graduate of Yale University and member of the First Yale Aviation Unit. The story of his first combat mission is an epic one. Kenneth Smith (R) and [...]
The Truth About WWI “Trench Guns”
During the First World War, the Winchester M1897, fitted with the M1917 bayonet, (colloquially called the “trench gun” by collectors) became perhaps the most iconic and immediately recognizable American small arm of the conflict. It is unusual, [...]
Losing a son and brother: A Quincy family and World War I
When the United States entered World War I in 1917, the U.S. Army was generally small, inexperienced and poorly equipped for warfare on the European front. In contrast, National Guard units, including the all Black, [...]
Bell from famous US WWI destroyer sunk off Scillies returned to its owners
The symbol of one of the most notable US Navy shipwrecks in history has been recovered from UK waters and presented to our closest allies. A team from the MOD’s Salvage and Marine Operations recovered [...]
World War I Doc Blazes Trail for Black Hospital, EMS Community
Throughout American history, Black service members have forged new paths for future generations, despite the prejudices they may have encountered. One such trailblazer was Dr. Frank Erdman Boston, who reached the rank of major during [...]
The Seven Men of Marlborough
This extremely detailed 1920-dated studio portrait showcases seven American soldiers from Marlborough, Massachusetts. All 7 men were from one small neighborhood, around Lincoln & East Main Street. Despite living so close together, many of them [...]
James Reese Europe: The WWI “Martin Luther King of music”
He helped popularize African American music among Black, white audiences Fought in World War I and led the 'Harlem Hellfighters' regimental band Introduced jazz to continental Europe, boosting wartime morale As part of Black History [...]
Battlefield Sanitation Improvements Due to the Great War
The First World War caused upheavals in many spheres of life but especially in medicine, where it acted as a giant field trial. British Motorized Bacteriological Laboratory A new feature amongst the many [...]
